Construction

The action of introducing or rearranging game elements to create structures in game worlds.

Building is a common activity possible in games; this may be actual constructions or simply actions that are diegetically presented as constructing something but other possibilities exist. One is that players may construct their own set of game elements to bring to a game, which may include actually building or creating them also. Another is that the main activity for players is to create the code that will be performing the actual gameplay.

Examples

Building houses and hotels in Monopoly and pyramids in Amun-Re are simple examples of how game actions can represent Construction, and this exists in computer games such as FarmVille and Ravenwood Fair as well. The Sims series combines this with controlling the 'Sims' or simply letting them behave as they wish in the houses constructed by the players. Games such as the SimCity series, the Incredible Machine game series, Pontifex, Minecraft, and Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress all focus heavily on building, and the two latter do that to a level of complexity that players have constructed computers within the games. Carcassonne shows how Construction can be used to create the game world as the game is being played. Spore is noteworthy in that it supports Construction on many different levels throughout the gameplay: from characteristics of microorganism to the development of bases on other planets as well as terraforming them. P-Robots and Crobots are games where the only influence players can have on the gameplay is how they program the robots. Although Construction is part of the diegesis of Puerto Rico and Race for the Galaxy, here players win or lose by how they build the functionality of their colonies and empires respectively, and an important part of mastering the game is knowing how to construct efficient combinations.

Some games make construction privileged actions for some players. Typical cases for this is so-called 'class-based' FPS Games, for example the 'engineer' class in the Team Fortress series and the 'field ops', 'engineer', 'constructor', and 'technician' classes in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

Tabletop Roleplaying Games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay most often have ready-made game worlds and narratives but the final touches are made by the game masters, besides that players often get to create their own characters. This was continued in early Massively Multiplayer Online Games, e.g. Kingdoms and DragonMud, where players that had shown their commitment could expand the game rules and game world. Some of the later commercial versions, e.g. Ultima Online, maintained aspects of this by letting players buy (and thereby build) houses. Superstruct shows how Construction can be used to stimulate players to create and describe future versions of themselves and how big scale modern day problem can be solved.

Players of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40K need to construct the armies which they intended to play with using ones they have purchased. The Collectible Card Games Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon Trading Card Game work in a similar fashion. For those participating in Live Action Roleplaying Games such as 1942 – Noen å stole på and Dragonbane need to create not only some items with narrative importance, such as full-scale dragons, but also everyday utensils and clothing.

Using the pattern

The design of Construction consists of choosing what game elements (or other material) is the basis for the activity, what the end result of the activity is, and what is required to be able to perform the activity.

There are many possible type of game elements usable as building materials but examples include Units (in Warhammer Fantasy Battle) and Tiles (in Carcassonne). Since Construction cannot typically be done without any restrictions, the material chosen becomes a Resource if it was not already. Construction do not need any base material but if this is the case there is typically some other Resources linked to the action, or the action has limitations (e.g. through Action Caps).

The game elements used from Construction can come from a number of different source. One is from outside the game as Game Element Insertion, while another is that they are created by the game system and a third is that they are simply rearranged within the Game Worlds through Movement.

Besides being building material, Units can also be the end result of Construction, as can Characters, Equipment and Tools, and by using these patterns in this way one modifies their presence. Another possible end result is the Construction of permanent Combos, which for example success in Puerto Rico and Race for the Galaxy depend upon. These Combos can intentionally be put into the game design as a way to modulate Construction but can also easily emerge as an effect. How Units or AI Players should behave is another possible outcome of Construction, found for example in Probots and C-Robots. This is most often done through some form of Action Programming, and is one of the ways players can have influence in Zero-Player Games. The Player Constructed Worlds of early Massively Multiplayer Online Games such as Kingdoms and DragonMud take Construction further since the actual Game Worlds are the result of player Construction. This is taken one step further in games such as Conway's Game of Life, Minecraft, and Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress, where players construct computers to be able to code within the Game Worlds.

or within the game but 

Narration Structures

Casual Gameplay Private Game Spaces Heterogeneous Game Element Ownership Multiplayer Games

Single-Player Games

The main design choices for supporting Construction include the design of the new game elements that are the product of the action, what Resources are needed, the possibility of succeeding, and the variations in designs that the players can create. Requiring scarce Resources for construction to occur can give rise to Exploration or Gain Ownership as well as Trading. Linking the chance of success to a Skill encourages Construction as a Competence Area. Allowing a large variation in the possible Constructions give players a Freedom of Choice and the Creative Control to Experiment and select Player Defined Goals. The possibility of failed Constructions leading to alternative Constructions also encourages Experimenting.

The amount of Construction in a game can easily be limited by making it a Privileged Ability.

Extra-Game Event Broadcasting

Irreversible Actions

Private Game Spaces

Game Masters

Consequences

Construction allows the creation and modification of Game Worlds. It also easily gives rise to Combos and Emergent Gameplay, and knowing about these effects is often part of what is required to have Game Mastery in games focusing on Construction.

The introduction of game elements through Construction is functionally similar to the effect of Producers but does not need to use Spawning. As such, Construction can more easily be given representations that allow the introduction of Game Elements in Game Worlds without breaking Diegetic Consistency.

Construction actions typically represent Investments and are perceived as Constructive Play. With enough possible permutations in what and how to construct things, the pattern gives Freedom of Choice and Creative Control which in turn can lead to Surprises, both for themselves and others. With Creative Control comes the additional possibility of Player Defined Goals (and adopting these can be said to be a requirement for games such as the SimCity series, FarmVille, and Minecraft to be games), and since players in most cases can themselves choose how hard they need to struggle for these goals games with these structures are also suitable for Pottering. All of these effects make it quite likely that Stimulated Planning rises from Construction.

When Construction exists in Persistent Game Worlds, or where players can activate Extra-Game Event Broadcasting, the pattern can have a higher Value of Effort since other players (and Spectators) can observe the outcomes of the activities. When taken to a more pervasive level, Construction enables Player Constructed Worlds. This does necessarily make the elements into Player Created Game Elements, for this to occur some level of Creative Control or actual craftsmanship is required. The Construction of Characters by players however leads to the presence of Player-Created Characters, regardless if they are actually to be used as Player Characters (most but not all RPGs), Companions (e.g. the 'grogs' and 'companions' in Ars Magica), or Non-Player Characters (e.g. 'dependents' in GURPS).

When Tiles are used for the Construction of Game Worlds, this gives rise to Tile-Laying.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Freedom of Choice, Combos, Constructive Play, Creative Control, Emergent Gameplay, Investments, Player-Created Characters, Player Constructed Worlds, Player Created Game Elements, Producers, Resources, Stimulated Planning

with Combos or Emergent Gameplay

Game Mastery

with Creative Control

Player Defined Goals, Pottering, Surprises

with Extra-Game Event Broadcasting or Persistent Game Worlds

Value of Effort

with Tiles

Tile-Laying

Can Modulate

Equipment, Game Worlds, Resources, Tools, Units, Zero-Player Games

Can Be Instantiated By

Action Programming, AI Players, Characters, Companions, Game Element Insertion, Movement, Player Characters, Tiles, Units

Can Be Modulated By

Combos

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

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History

An updated version of the pattern Construction that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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